A Few Words From the February Birthday Table
It was immigration that taught us it does not matter where you came from, or who your parents were. What counts is who you are."
—Congresswoman Barbara Jordan
"I have said this before, and I will say it again: the vote is precious. It is almost sacred. It is the most powerful non-violent tool we have in a democracy."
—Congressman John Lewis
“If the misery of our poor be caused not by the laws of nature, but by our institutions, great is our sin.”
—Charles Darwin
"I don't have a short temper, I just have a quick reaction to bullshit."
—Elizabeth Taylor
"To me, the most important part of winning is joy. You can win without joy, but winning that’s joyless is like eating in a four-star restaurant when you’re not hungry. Joy is a current of energy in your body, like chlorophyll or sunlight, that fills you up and makes you naturally want to do your best."
—Bill Russell
"The legitimate object of government is to do for a community of people whatever they need to have done, but can not do at all, or can not so well do, for themselves, in their separate, and individual capacities."
—President Lincoln
"The life of a nation is secure only while the nation is honest, truthful, and virtuous."
—Frederick Douglass
"Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the Titanic who waved off the dessert cart."
—Erma Bombeck
"Guys, is this inauguration speech running too long? No? You sure? We're cool? Great. Okay, as I was saying…"
—President William Henry Harrison
And the classic:
“You don’t need no gun control. You know what you need? We need some bullet control. That’s right—I think all bullets should cost five thousand dollars. Five thousand dollars per bullet. You know why? Cuz if a bullet costs five thousand dollars, there would be no more innocent bystanders.”
—Chris Rock
If you’re marking another year around the sun this month—including you lovable leap year babies—Happy Birthday and many blessings on your camels.
And now, our feature presentation...
Cheers and Jeers for Thursday, February 19, 2026
Note: Wow! I just got an email that says "The BMW Uk Company has Award you 2Crore 35Lakh Rupees. To claim send Name, Address, Mobile no, Age only To: bmwukmaimdep@hotmail.com." But seriously, I have so many Crore Lakh Rupees already that I'll let you email and claim them instead. Just don’t mention my name. I don’t want to get in trouble. —BiPM
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By the Numbers:
8 days!!!
Days 'til spring: 30
Days 'til Nebraska's 60th Omaha Home and Garden Expo: 8
Percent of registered voters polled by Quantus who want Democrats and Republicans, respectively, to control the U.S. Senate: 50%, 42%
Number of measles cases nationwide in the first three weeks of 2026, a 43-fold increase over the same period last year: 1,031
Amount of its market value Amazon has lost over 11 days, its worst slump since 1997: $450 billion
Percent chance that Canadians traveling to China will no longer need a visa: 100%
Age of Oscar-winning actor Robert Duvall when he died this week: 95
Current U.S. Olympic Medal Count
Gold: 7 Silver: 11 Bronze: 6
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Your Thursday Molly Ivins Moment:
Since we're right here in the heart of compassionate conservatism, it seems like a good idea to check and see how it's going so far.
First rat out of the trap, as it were, our new Republican Texas Senate, led by our new Republican lieutenant governor and urged on by our Republican governor, passed a very compassionate $45 million tax break for the oil and gas industry.
So on the evidence thus far, we'd have to say that compassionate conservatism looks a whole lot like the old mean, nasty conservatism we're all used to.
Gov. George W. Bush's first compassionate move was to declare an emergency so the $45 mill tax break can go into effect immediately upon full passage.
—February 1999
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Puppy Pic of the Day: "Mission Control, Apollo's liftoff has been delayed, over…"
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CHEERS to clearing the air…again. You didn’t think folks would just accept it when Mad King Rottinghand erased the EPA's 17-year-old "greenhouse gases are bad in excess" declaration, did you? Of course not. Because you are wise, and you knew this would be coming:
A coalition of health and environmental groups sued the Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday, challenging its determination last week that revoked a scientific finding that has been the central basis for U.S. action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change. […]
“F*ck future generations. Let’s go play golf.”
EPA’s repeal of the endangerment finding, along with the elimination of safeguards to limit vehicle emissions, “marks a complete dereliction of the agency’s mission to protect people’s health and its legal obligations under the Clean Air Act,’’ said Dr. Gretchen Goldman, president and CEO at the Union of Concerned Scientists. “This shameful and dangerous action ... is rooted in falsehoods, not facts, and is at complete odds with the public interest and the best available science,” Goldman said.
Responded EPA head Lee Zeldin: "Not now. I'm picking out swatches for the interior of my new private jet. Oh my god, wait'll you see the master bedroom! It's got a bar, mirrored ceiling, and…ahem… As I said, no comment."
JEERS to the Epstein Class. As is quickly becoming apparent to mainstream America, the notorious sex-trafficking ring run and frequented by the most soulless ultra-wealthy weirdos the world has to offer is worse than most of us thought. But it's a complicated puzzle to assemble, especially since the Department of Erasing Donald Trump's Involvement At All Costs—formerly the Justice Department—is hellbent on hiding the majority of evidence that would answer a lot of questions. So for now all we can do is scan the headlines via Google News to let you know in general terms where things stand in Sickoville:
» Epstein files suggest acts that may amount to crimes against humanity, say U.N. experts
» Billionaire Les Wexner is being deposed in the Epstein files probe
How illuminating. Thanks, Pam.
» Billionaire Les Wexner Says He Visited Epstein’s Private Island
» The Price of Admission to Epstein’s World: Silence
» Poll: almost 7 in 10 say Epstein files show powerful people rarely held accountable
» The Epstein files have brought a wave of resignations and investigations
» Hyatt Hotels Executive Chairman Thomas Pritzker resigns over Epstein ties: 'I deeply regret... my association'
» 'This is not over.' Corporate America's Epstein reckoning gathers steam
» New Investigation Launched into Epstein’s 7,600-Acre Zorro Ranch.
To paraphrase a cop to a crowd at a crime scene: “Plenty to see here, please don’t move along.”
JEERS to slowpokery. On February 19, 1986, the Senate approved a treaty that said genocide—y'know like what Trump and Netanyahu unleashed on Gaza—was unacceptable.
The [UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide] was approved on a vote of 83-11. Written as a reaction to the Holocaust of World War II, the pact makes it an international crime to kill or injure members of national, racial, ethnic or religious groups. It has been approved by 96 other nations. […]
Sen. William Proxmire (D-WI) was one of the biggest advocates of the genocide treaty, and gave thousands of speeches on the Senate floor in its defense.
Author Elie Wiesel, chairman of the U.S. Holocaust memorial council, said, ″This is a historic event for America. It signals to the world how committed the people of the United States are to human rights.″
What's really amazing is that the treaty was first introduced in 1949...and was signed 37 years after the pact had first been offered up for ratification. Or, as the current Senate would call it: the speed of light.
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BRIEF SANITY BREAK
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END BRIEF SANITY BREAK
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JEERS to really bad ideas from really good presidents. On February 19, 1942, President Roosevelt signed the infamous order that would lead to the "relocation" (read: forced detention) of Japanese Americans and Japanese nationals living here. How do we know it was a really, really bad decision? Because nutcase Michelle Malkin thinks it was a really, really good decision. Case closed.
JEERS to the least-surprising news of the morning. Oh, golly, I hope this doesn’t throw up a roadblock to Trump's quest for a Nobel Peace Prize:
Talks between Russia, Ukraine and the US aimed at ending Moscow's war in Ukraine have concluded without a breakthrough. The trilateral meetings, held in Geneva, went on late on Tuesday but only lasted two hours on Wednesday.
The U.S. negotiators said they tried everything they could to convince "the ridiculously stubborn, defiant leader" that it's time to "stop his dangerous military adventures and compromise on a settlement that will bring an end to the fighting." Then they turned their attention to the Russian delegation and asked how they were enjoying their foot massages.
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Twenty years ago in C&J: February 19, 2006
CHEERS to Famous Firsts. At the Winter Olympics in Turin (How do you get there? Just turin left at the first Alp. Ha Ha Ha!!!), Seth Wescott of Farmington has become the first Mainer to win a gold medal in a winter event and the first person to win a gold medal in the new sport of "snowboardcross." It makes up for our devastating loss Wednesday in the first ever Slalomwhilefixingasandwich competition (we lost precious seconds on the mayo-slathering leg, dammit).
P.S. Memo to snooty American tourists: the shroud of Turin is not for sale, no matter how perfect you think it would look on the wall of your townhouse den. So please stop trying to haggle with the priests.
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And just one more…
CHEERS to 30 days of tummy growlies. The Islamic holy month of Ramadan started Tuesday night, and we’d like to give a C&J shoutout to all of our Muslim readers around the world, of which we have millions. According to the mighty Wikipedia, “This annual observance is regarded as one of the Five Pillars of Islam. The month lasts 29–30 days based on the visual sightings of the crescent moon, according to numerous biographical accounts compiled in the hadiths.” It’s also a month of dawn-to-dusk fasting. Here’s our annual glimpse into what that looks like for American Muslims, courtesy of Buzzfeed…
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The previous Democratic President of the United States celebrated by actually wishing those who celebrate Ramadan a Happy Ramadan! Unlike the current Republican president, who won’t do that, and will end up surprised when he finds out his afterlife consists of 72 virgins beating him for eternity with bottles of spray-on tan.
Have a nice Thursday. Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today?
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Today's Shameless C&J Testimonial
“Kristi Noem realized she had left some personal items, including her Sparkle Pony floatie, in the Cheers and Jeers kiddie pool. When Lewandowski was informed, he yelled at Bill in Portland Maine and threatened to fire him.”
—NBC News
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